CHENNAI: Pandemonium reigned during the oath-taking ceremony of the newly formed Tamil Film Directors Union (TANTIS) with one of the newly elected members suggesting a motion making it mandatory for all members to have directed a film in the last 5 years. When Ramesh Khanna, who has directed only a handful of films, made the suggestion that only ‘current’ directors should be a part of the Union, quite a few members exploded in protest.
The oath-taking was held at a marriage hall in Valasaravakkam, close to the TANTIS office. Last weekend, elections had been called off because all opposing members had withdrawn from the race, allowing the consortium of directors led by Vikraman to hold court for two more years. Some of the better known directors who took oath on Wednesday included K S Ravikumar, Kannan, Ravi Mariya, Sundar C and Ramesh Khanna. This is the first time in the history of the 46-year-old union that the members have come to power unopposed.
When Khanna, who moonlights as an assistant for K S Ravikumar and as a comedian, said, “It is important for us to only have members who are current and are making films and so I propose that we only have directors who have served at least as assistants on a released film in the last five years as members.” In response, almost immediately, lesser known directors led by Ramadas rushed on stage and forcibly took the podium and lambasted the move.
After heated exchanges, R K Selvamani said, “Members who are involved will continue even if they are unable to complete a film. This is a suggestion. Everybody is entitled to an opinion. We will debate this in our next General Body meet.” The proceedings were then dissolved.